The Sox and Tigers battled each other and the rain last night. In the end, the rain would end up winning out and after about a 2 hour rain delay the game would end up being called and the Sox would get a win.
Josh Beckett wasn’t traded and took the mound for the Sox, however he would not remain on the mound for long. Beckett looked great in the first two innings pitching through some pretty gnarly rain. In the 3rd, things started to go awry. Beckett issued two walks, one to load the bases and one to bring a run in. After Beckett walked Cabrera he motioned for the trainers to come to the mound. The trainer worked on his back for a few minutes and then they made the choice to pull him from the game. Beckett received some uncalled for boos from the crowd as he left the mound. Beckett left the game for back spasms and it was reminiscent of the rainy game in 2010 in New York when the rain ran Beckett from the mound. Beckett said after the game that the injury is not nearly as serious as the back injury in 2010 and Bobby V said he is day to day. I’ll cross my fingers and hope that he is still able to be productive for the Sox going forward. Clayton Mortensen came out in relief of Beckett and with the bases loaded and Prince Fielder at the plate. No worries though since he got the out they needed to get out of the inning. That’s a pretty big deal. Mortensen also pitched a scoreless 4th and 5th inning in the pouring rain.
Justin Verlander was the guy on the mound for the Tigers. He didn’t seem to be having his best game either. Verlander used 35 pitches in the first and loaded the bases before escaping without giving up a run. Verlander didn’t buckle until the 4th inning when the Sox were able to score 4 runs. Verlander gave up an RBI single to Pedro Ciriaco to tie the game. Sox 1-1. In a very Beckett like move, Verlander then walked in the go ahead run. Sox 2-1. The Sox scored the last two runs in the inning when Crawford hit an RBI single. Sox 4-1.
After Mortensen finished the 5th inning and the game was official, then rain started to move from annoying to ridiculous. There were standing pools of water in some areas of the field and the rain just continued to pour. In the 6th with one man on and one out, Franklin Morales was in the game to replace Mortensen. Morales got an out, however then he gave up a single and a walk to load the bases. The rain became unbearable at that point and the grounds crew pulled the tarp. At this point, the Sox were leaded however the Tigers had the tying runs on base and the go ahead run at the plate.
The game went into delay for about 2 hours and with the radar showing no end in sight the game was called. This tweet was sent from Gordon Edes after the game:
I can’t say I blame the Tigers. The game was called when they were at least in the midst of what could have been a game winning rally. I know if it was the Sox on the other end of this one, I’d be livid.
Fortunately though for the Sox, Mature Nature was on their side last night and they end up getting their 4th win in a row. The Sox are now 2 games above 500 and they are no longer in last place in the AL East. They still have a long long way to go, but it’s a nice start.
Red Sox 4 Tigers 1 F/6 BOXSCORE
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